CLOWES. 58 CLXTB. at Lincoln's Inn for the law, which he aban- doned for journalism. He served on the Stand- ard (1885), Ddilij .Vfics (1887-nO), and Times (1890-95), and contributed largely to English and foreign magazines. His articles on needs of the navy, battle-ships, torpedo-boats, etc., became widely known. He was editor and ]iart author of The Royal Nai^y: A Bistort/ from the Earliest Times to the Present (fi'vols., 1897-1901). Among his numerous works are: The Naval Pocket-Bool- ( an annual ) : Confessions of an Enrilish Hachish-Eatcr (188.3): lilack America: A Study of the ex-Slare and His Late Master '(1892); Blood is Thicker than ^Yater (1894); a volume of poems entitled Eclogues (1899). CLOWN. See Je.ster; Pantomime. CLUB. A word said to be derived from the Saxon ch'ofan, to divide — a club being an asso- ciation, the expenses of which are shared among the members. Societies of somewhat the same nature existed in ancient Greece and Rome, and mention of them is made in Aristotle, Cicero, Plutarch, and other ancient writers. The mod- ern club, however, had its origin in the London taverns and cofl'ee-houses. Thomas Occleve, who wrote in the reign of Henry IV., mentions 'La Court de Bonne Compagnie,' of which he was a member; but the first celebrated club in London is that to which belonged Shakespeare, Fletcher, Raleigh, Beaumont, and other brilliant men of letters who met at the Mermaid Tavern in Bread Street. Ben .Jonson founded a club which met at the Devil Tavern, for which he is supposed to have written his Leges Coiiricialcs. The Calves' Head, so named in allusion to Charles I., was a famous London club, which existed in the latter jiart of the seventeenth century and the early part of the eighteenth century, and whose mem- bers banqueted on January 3 on a calf's head. In 1659 the first political club, the Rota, was established and met at the Turk's Head in New Palace Yard, The famous 'October ale' served at the October Clul) was another political institu- tion of which Swift became the leading spirit after his conversion to Toryism, The Literary Club, established in 1764 by Sir Joshua Reynolds and Dr. .Tohnsoii, of which Goldsmith. Gibbon, Garrick, Burke, and other celebrated men of let- ters were members, afforded a meeting-place for congenial spirits, where they could freely dis- cuss the merits of the contemporary literary pro- ductions and their authors. Its membership was limited, and Garrick found it diflicult to gain ad- mission. This club still exists in London. It is usually called the Literary Club, but its mem- bers have always claimed for it simply the title of 'The Club.' The King's Head ' Club, founded by the unscrupulous Shaftesbury, and the Mug House Club, so called on account of the ale-mugs used by its members, were noted political clubs of the early part of the eighteenth century. The Kit-Kat, established about 1700, was named after Christopher Katt, a noted mutton-pie man. Its members toasted some cele- brated beauty, whose name was inscribed on the toasting-glass in verse. The Dukes of Slarlbo- rough and Devonshire, Sir Robert Walpole, Con- greve. Granville, and Addison were members of the Kit-Kat. About the same time existed the Tattler's Club in Shire Lane, and the famous Beefsteak Society, whose members wore badges inscribed with the motto, 'Beef and Liberty.' Its members were called 'Steaks.' Hogarth. Fox, Sheridan, and the Duke of Clarence were among its noted memliers. As already said, these clubs had tlicir origin in the taverns and cotlee-lunises of London. To this class belonged Almack's. established in 1764. and White's, established in 1698, as White's Chocolate House, and removed in 1755 to Saint James Street. Brooks's was established in 1704, and Boodle's, a famous re- sort for country squires and liunting-uien, in 1762. It is, of course, very easy to understand the genesis of clubs such as White's and Brooks's. In those days men's personal associations de- pended chiefly on party affiliation. Tories lived with Tories, and Whigs with Whigs. Intermar- riages between persons of dilferent political families were not common. Hence, men flocked to those taverns and public-houses where they would )neet members of their own party. The next step was easy and obvious. The proprietor would agree, of course for a consideration, to exclude persons whose company would not be agreeable to the habitues of the place. It was thus that Vhite's and Brooks's were formed. White's being a Tory and Brooks's a Whig club. These clubs are known as 'proprietary clubs,' to distinguish them from those of which the mem- bers were the owners. The latter class of clubs is, of course, the more recent. About 1815, after the termination of the Na- poleonic wars, the restaurant or dining-room waa introduced into the clubs. Many army and navy oflicers, being no longer needed in active service, were placed on half p.iy, and were thus com- pelled to observe a strict economy. By combin- ing their resources, they could live well and much more cheaply than when having their meals alone. From that time on, the number of clubs in England increased, until at the present day there are more than one hundred prominent clubs in London. These may be roughly divided into the following classes: Purely social clubs, to which belong Arthur's (established in 1765), with a membership of 600 : the Bachelor's Club (established in 1881), with a membership of 920, admitting ladies as visitors; the Gros- venor (established in 1883), with a membership of .3000; the .Junior Athenicum (established in 1864), with a membership of 500; the Piccadilly (established in 1893), with a membership of 1500, admitting ladies as visitors; the LTnion (established in 1822), with a membership of 1000; the Wellington (established in 1885), with a membership of 1400 ; the Travellers' Club (established in 1819), with 800 members. To this last club no one may belong who has not traveled for 500 miles in a direct line from Lon- don. This rule was made just after the cessation of the Napoleonic wars, during which traveling on the Continent was difficult. Among the clubs whose main purpose is political is the Carlton (established in 1832), which has a membership of 1800. and is Conservative ; the Conservative (established in 1840), with a membership of 1300; the Constitutional (established in 1883), with a membership of 6500; the Junior Carlton (established in 1864), with a membership of 2100. and strictly Conservative. The .Tunior Conservative and the Junior Constitutional have each a membership of 5500. and are Conserva- tive; the Primrose, established in 1886, has a membership of 5000, and is Conservative; the Reform, established in 1837, has a membership
